Nobel laureates aren’t acknowledging China’s progress

By Su Li Source:Global Times Published: 2012-12-6 0:25:06

On Tuesday, 134 Nobel laureates jointly published an open letter, urging new leadership of China to release Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2010. These laureates come from across all six Nobel disciplines, and among their ranks are 12 Peace Prize winners including the Dalai Lama.

In recent years, the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize winners, from US President Barack Obama in 2009 to this year's pick of the European Union, has increasingly made the public scratch its head. Certainly, the decision to award the prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo infuriated Chinese society.

It seems that the Nobel Committee has missed the real focus of the world, and consequently has seen its influence dwindling.

Among these 134 members, we wonder how many of them have first-hand experience of China, let alone are aware of the changes that have taken place in terms of China's political freedom in recent years.

By speaking with one voice, the 134 Nobel laureates have only demonstrated their firm opposition to non-Western ideologies. In their eyes, a few dissidents speak for all of China. A sense of moral superiority still persists among Western elites and their followers.

As far as mainstream Chinese society is concerned, this letter only made them believe that the West is in no way ready to accept a robust China that is different from the West, as the Nobel Committee and these laureates have constantly clashed with Chinese values.

Does this non-conciliatory approach stand for the principle of promoting peace that the Nobel Peace Prize claims itself to do? Aside from cheap publicity, this open letter doesn't offer any real value.

It is gradually becoming clear to the Chinese public that so-called human rights activists from abroad cannot bring real change to the welfare of the country except for empty preaching.

The Chinese government and its people are really responsible for the progress of this country. There are numerous people who have contributed to the prosperity of China, and who are working in a constructive way to help make it more open and free. They deserve more applause from these Nobel laureates, if these laureates really do care about what's happening in China.

We hope the Nobel Committee and these 134 Nobel laureates take a more objective position and take a fair look at China.